Dark Abyss of the Soul
by deefer
Summary: The war has been going on for 5 years after the Battle of Hogwarts. Hermione is traveling around the world for the Order, in search of Voldemort. She comes across the last person she ever wanted to see, but what happens when her enemy needs her help for survival?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer:** All characters and anything familiar from the HP series obviously belong to J.K. Rowling. Only the plot is mine.

* I made a few changes to the story in the Prologue. I hope it's better than the previous one. Please let me know what you all think!

* * *

** Prologue**

"The dark night is about being fully present in the tender wounded emptiness of our own souls. It's not about turning away from the pain but learning to rest in it. Rather than distracting ourselves from the simple darkness at out core, we sit with it, paying close attention. And opening our hearts to all that is left, which is love." - Mirabai Starr

Running.

Over the past three years, that is what Hermione had been doing to survive. She abandoned all thoughts of comfort, familiarity, and of having a place she can call home.

Ever since the last battle at Hogwarts, five years ago, where Voldemort disappeared, nowhere was safe. The Death Eaters went into hiding shortly after, fearing that their leader was truly gone this time. Despite the disappearence of Voldemort, the Ministry was slowly regaining a sense of leadership and began to pick itself up and restore security throughout England's wizarding community. For a while, it finally seemed that all was well.

No matter how well things seemed to be going, there was always that thought looming in everyone's mind.

_Where is Voldemort?_

After his wand connected with Harry's, the connection eventually gave out and Voldemort used what little strength he had left to seize Bellatrix and they both disappeared. It all happened within the blink of an eye. Like the sound of several gunshots, the remaining Death Eaters Disapperated and left the survivors of the battle in disbelieving shock.

Despite the devastating losses, Magical England began to pick up its pieces and for almost two years, nearly everyone believed that maybe Voldemort had died. Nearly everyone.

The Order of the Phoenix met four times a week to figure out what happened at the end of the battle. There seemed to be more questions being asked than finding the answers.

_What happened between the wands?_

_Where did Voldemort go?_

_Did he survive? Did Bellatrix?_

It was nearing the second anniversary of the last battle at Hogwarts, when it finally happened.

Despite the strengthened security measures at Azkaban, Rodolphus Lestrange, one of the few captured Death Eaters, escaped. After that, all thoughts, all hope, that Voldemort perished, were dashed.

The Order decided to send some members around the world to find out what happened to Voldemort and Bellatrix.

Hermione decided to take a break from the hopeless situation that had consumed the magical world of Great Britain. She volunteered herself to travel the world in search of anything that would help further the Order's investigation.

Harry and Ron refused to let her go alone, but Hermione insisted on it, stating that Harry needed to stay in magical London to help keep the Order together, while Ron had to stay behind for his family, and to keep Harry grounded. Hermione wanted to clear her mind from the problems that kept following them in London, and she believed that Voldemort was laying low, far away from home, strengthening himself somehow.

Luna left as well, she teamed up with Neville to travel with the same purpose of Hermione. The Order needed more people spread out around the world to find out what was going on with the Dark side. Charlie stayed behind in Romania, to continue his work with the dragons, and also because Kingsley feared that Voldemort might recruit the small community of vampires that lived in Romania.

During that year, the surviving Death Eaters who went into hiding began to make their presence known. They started out by starting riots in Muggle towns, while remaining undetected. After a few months, the Death Eaters turned to murder once again. Pretty soon, there were news that small Muggle towns were being wiped out.

The Muggle Prime Minister was informed that it was wizards who were the reason the massacres, which caused fear and hostility among the governments. The Ministry of Magic was once again taken over and without Dumbledore, there was no stability, no sense of direction.

Rodolphus was leading the Ministry, and reinstated the old policy regarding Muggleborns:

_As per Ministry Decree #110, every witch and wizard of Muggle descent must present themselves to the Ministry for questioning and to relinquish their wand. Whoever does not willingly present himself will be persecuted severely._

The Decree was only a pretense to instill fear amongst the magical community, as well as order. No one dared to question why the Muggleborns who went in for questioning, were never seen or heard from again.

The future of the wizarding world seemed bleak, but as dark as things seemed to get, it never wavered the determination of the Order of the Phoenix, and especially of Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ronald Weasley.

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Please review and let me know what you think of this story :-)


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: All characters are J.K. Rowling's. Only the plot is mine.**

**Please read and review**

* * *

The sun was burning through the little shack Hermione had called 'home' for the last three weeks. The weather in the little tropical town had been off during Hermione's stay in the town. When she first arrived, it was raining heavily for the first two weeks. Now, over the past few days, the sun was shining brighter and the humidity levels were at an all time high.

Hermione stirred when she heard her wand vibrating on the small nightstand next to her little cot. She got up slowly, and began to prepare for the day.

Hermione walked into the bathroom and freshened up. She stared at herself in the mirror, seeing the face she had grown accustomed to over the past three weeks. Since Death Eaters were still roaming the earth, it would be stupid to walk around without a disguise. Hermione changed her hair to a soft blonde color, and her eyes to a shade of green similar to Harry's. She also changed her nose to be slightly pointier to throw off anyone who might see past the different eyes and hair.

With a low rumble in her stomach, Hermione left the little shack and made her way towards the Muggle marketplace a few miles away. She took out her wand from the little pocket she created inside her shirt and Apparated about half a mile away from the market.

Although the weather was boiling, Hermione made the half-mile trek into town. She had grown accustomed to dealing with weather extremities. She had traveled all over the world over the past year and had dealt with different types of weather conditions.

The market was busier that day; there were more people than any other day Hermione came in for supplies. She walked towards the fruits stand and began loading up her bag with food. As she paid, she saw from the corner of her eye, two men walking through the market place. At first, Hermione did not know why they stood out to her until she saw the way they were dressed and how they carried themselves.

They both wore robes but even from a distance, Hermione could tell they were made of finer quality. The men walked through the crowds a bit aggressively and pushed through the people. They stopped at a stand near Hermione and talked amongst themselves in a low tone while they looked at the items for sale. One of the men kept looking over his shoulder as if he was expecting someone.

Hermione moved slightly closer towards them and strained to catch a part of their conversation. These men were acting suspiciously and were not even trying to be discreet about it. She managed to get into a spot that was relatively far from them but close enough to hear what they were saying. She pretended to check the apple she was holding for any bruised spots while she listened to their conversation.

"-And we left him for dead."

"Are you sure it was him, Rowle?"

"Yes, it was hard to believe it myself, the traitorous bastard."

"How is it possible that a-"

CRASH

Hermione looked up startled as she heard a crash behind her. A young woman was holding jewelry and walked through the market trying to sell to customers. She walked right into a dry fruits cart and dropped her goods. She picked up her merchandise and walked away.

Hermione looked towards the men she was eavesdropping on and felt a surge of anger rush through her. These men were Death Eaters. They disguised themselves to look different but she recognized the name, Rowle as in Thorfinn Rowle.

Hermione calmed herself down and tried listening again. _What were Death Eaters doing in Honduras?_

"The Dark Lord is furious at him and that's why he sent us here, to finish off the traitor."

So there was a traitor amongst the Death Eaters. Hermione wanted to go back to her shack and send the Order a message about what she had found out. She knew she was right in coming here. Harry did not agree with her but let her come anyway, the more Order members spread out across the world, the better. Even if a certain place did not have any clues about Voldemort's whereabouts, the Order still left protective charms around the area.

The Death Eaters stopped talking and the one that Hermione did not recognize, pulled out his wand. Hermione pulled out hers as well, in case they were going to attack the marketplace. If they did, she was outnumbered and would reveal her identity but she did not want to risk the lives of all the people around her.

Rowle muttered a curse but Hermione pointed her wand at him.

"_STUPEFY!"_

He dropped to the ground and his partner looked around in shock. He saw Hermione running towards him with her wand pointed at him and he drew out his wand and shouted a curse at her.

The yellow light flew past her shoulder, narrowly missing it. The people around began panicking and running. The Death Eater quickly muttered a spell and a ring of fire surrounded the marketplace. There was no way out.

"_Incarcerous!"_ Shouted Hermione, but the Death Eater deflected the spell and the ropes fell limp on the ground.

The Death Eater charged towards Hermione and shot a spell towards her.

Hermione dodged it and sent a stinging hex towards him.

The Death Eater fell backwards and Hermione took that moment to bind him but the Death Eater bounced back up quickly and caught Hermione by surprise. He shot a spell at her and the yellow light hit her square in the chest. Hermione stumbled forward and her line of vision was getting cloudy and black spots were appearing in front of her.

She wanted to succumb to the unconsciousness that was engulfing her but she struggled to focus.

She faintly heard the Death Eater running towards Rowle, thinking she was knocked out. He was frantically trying to revive him when Hermione stood up shakily on her feet.

He turned around Disapparated with a loud crack with Rowle, thinking she too weak to save herself from the fire.

Hermione couldn't believe her luck. She got up and looked around the marketplace. The Death Eater somehow managed to contain the fire to block out any escape route. She was losing the fight with unconsciousness but held on long enough to send a patronous to Harry before she passed out in the middle of the circle.

•••

Hermione woke up and looked at her surroundings groggily. She tried to sit up but let out a gasp of pain before falling back onto the pillows.

A head shot up when she gasped and Hermione saw Harry rushing towards her.

"Hermione, you're awake!" he exclaimed.

"Where am I? Harry, what happened to all the Muggles?" She asked him frantically as the memories of the attack returned to her.

"Hermione, relax. I got your patronous and I took Bill and Kingsley with me here to Honduras. We didn't know where to look but apparently we landed near where the attack took place because we saw smoke a couple of miles away and we rushed over.

Kinglsey knew the counter spell to stop the fire and he contained it so we could get through the circle. Bill and Kingsley went to help the Muggles and erased their memories of the attack. I saw you on the floor and I swear, for a moment there, I thought we lost you." Harry cleared his throat roughly and turned back to look at her. The pain he felt when he thought he lost his best friend was reflected in his green eyes.

"Oh, Harry." Hermione whispered softly, "I'm sorry to have put you all through that."

"Don't be, Hermione. I'm glad you're okay now. We have Madam Pomfrey here, she looked after you while you were unconscious."

Hermione smiled at him and looked around at her surroundings.

"Where are we? And how long have I been out for?" she asked.

Harry got up as Madam Pomfrey bustled in the room and gasped when she saw Hermione awake.

"Oh, dear you're finally awake!" Madam Pomfrey exclaimed as she rushed over and began checking Hermione's vitals.

Harry chuckled, having been used to Madam Pomfrey treating him so many times over the years.

"You've been out for three days, Hermione." Harry answered her.

Hermione's eyes widened as she let Madam Pomfrey check on her.

"Hey, I'm going to go let Kingsley and Bill know you're awake, and when you're ready I'll come back in and you can tell us what happened." Harry smiled at Hermione as she nodded in agreement.

"You had us all very worried, dear." Madam Pomfrey said when Harry left.

"I'm sorry, I can imagine how it must have been when my patronous went to Harry." Hermione said.

"It gave us all a fright but as long as you're okay, dear." said Madam Pomfrey. She bustled around the small room looking for potions and came back and handed Hermione a small vial of potion that was freezing cold to the touch.

"Drink up my dear, the potion will go down very cold but it will give you a warming sensation once you drink it. It will help kill the curse that hit you." She instructed.

Hermione nodded and grimaced when the potion slid down her throat. She let out a shiver as it went down but then she felt warm inside as the potion spread throughout her body.

"What curse was I hit with?" Hermione asked.

"The curse wasn't a very strong one. It was only meant to render you unconscious right away and alter your short-term memory so you forget what happened right before the curse hit you. Since you managed to stay conscious long enough to send us the patronous, you were able to fight off the curse enough to keep your memories intact." Madam Pomfrey explained.

"The potion will give you strength in case you pass out again from the after effects of the curse." She added.

Madam Pomfrey checked Hermione's vitals again and advised Hermione to stay in bed for the next two days. When she was done, Madam Pomfrey went to retrieve Harry and the others.

Hermione nodded and thanked the healer for her efforts. Once the door closed, she leaned against the pillow and closed her eyes as she processed everything.

She heard Harry's voice outside the room and opened her eyes as the men walked in. She still didn't know where they took her.

"Hermione! Good to see you're doing okay," said Kingsley, in his deep voice.

"Yeah, you had us really worried there. How are you feeling?" asked Bill.

"Thanks for helping me, I owe you all my life." Hermione said as she looked at the three members of the Order with gratitude.

They smiled back at her as they made themselves comfortable.

Kingsley took over, since he was the head of the Order. He pulled out a chair and sat down next to Hermione.

"Okay, Hermione. Are you ready to tell us everything that happened the other day? I know it must be exhausting to relive it since you just recovered but we need all the details while they're still fresh on your mind." Said Kingsley.

"No, it's fine. I feel a lot better now." Hermione assured him as she sat up in her makeshift bed. "But before we start, I want to know, where are we?"

Kingsley looked a little confused before he opened his mouth to answer her.

"Oh, Hermione, I forgot to tell you when you asked me." Harry interrupted. "Sorry, we're still in Honduras. We did not know where you stayed so we set up camp in an uninhabited area, a few miles away from the place of attack."

"Okay, thanks Harry." Hermione said. She turned to look at Kingsley who was waiting for her to tell her what happened.

After finishing her story, the three men looked at her in shock.

"What would Death Eaters be doing here in Honduras?" wondered Bill out loud.

"I wonder who the traitor is, and why he defected." Pondered Harry.

"They said they left him for dead here in Honduras. I think the traitor was hiding from the Death Eaters and they found him here. That's the only sensible reason I could think of for them to be here." Said Hermione.

Kingsley nodded in agreement, while he processed all the information.

"We'll leave in a few days once you're well enough for travel. In the mean time, I'm going to go with Bill to see if we can find anymore Death Eaters out here." Kingsley said as he got up to leave the room.

"Wait, we should go and try to find the Death Eater who defected," Hermione said.

"Yeah, I agree. We should find the body before they use it as an example to the other Death Eaters, or before the Muggles get involved." said Bill.

Hermione nodded and yawned as Bill and Kingsley left the room.

"I don't know how I'm still tired after sleeping for three days straight," Hermione grumbled. Harry laughed and tucked her in her bed as Hermione drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** All characters and anything familiar from the HP series obviously belong to J.K. Rowling. Only the plot is mine.

*Please read and review

* * *

The next day, Hermione woke up feeling much better than she had the previous day. Once she opened her eyes, it took her a moment to remember her surroundings and why she was there.

Hermione started when she heard someone lightly snoring to her right. She looked over and saw Harry, slumped over in an armchair, fast asleep. Hermione smiled at her best friend's sleeping form, touched that he stayed by her side so she wouldn't be alone.

After a few minutes in bed, Hermione decided to test her strength and walk around. The minute her feet touched the ground, the door opened and Madam Pomfrey poked her head inside.

"Hermione, dear, I told you to stay in bed for at least two days." Madam Pomfrey admonished her.

"Yes, but I wanted to see if I was well enough to walk around a little," Hermione pleaded.

Madam Pomfrey shook her head at Hermione and the young girl went back to bed. Madam Pomfrey came by the bed and checked Hermione's vitals and brought over a new potion.

"This, my dear, will give you strength and will help for any pain you have left from the curse, but it should all be gone by now. I trust you will take it now and then again, tonight after dinner. I must be back at the Order headquarters tonight for a meeting, but I believe I will see you there after you recover," Madam Pomfrey said, handing Hermione the potion.

Harry woke up, and he and Hermione bid farewell to Madam Pomfrey as she left the room.

"Harry, when are we going back to Grimmauld? And where are Bill and Kingsley?" Hermione asked Harry.

Harry rubbed his eyes and stretched out in the armchair.

"We're leaving in about two days, or however long it takes to finish our task. Once you recover, you and I will go and look for the Death Eater's body and try to find out anything else. Bill and Kingsley went back to Grimmauld early this morning to inform the others that you're okay, and to organize tonight's meeting." Harry explained.

Hermione nodded, and attempted once again to leave the bed. She was feeling restless, after being in bed for four days.

Harry got up and helped her out of bed. Hermione exhaled in relief and stretched her legs.

Together, the pair went to the living room area of the magically enlarged tent and Harry went over to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. Hermione went over to help him but he all but forced her to go and relax on one of the couches.

Hermione opened a book she found lying on the coffee table and read until Harry was finished cooking. Once he was finished, she left the living room and helped him set the table. They both ate in silence, reminiscing about the last time they were hiding away in a tent, looking for Horcruxes.

"Who do you think the Death Eater could be?" Harry asked, after a few minutes of silence.

"I don't know, but it definitely isn't Bellatrix, or the Malfoys, that's for sure." Hermione said, shuddering as she remembered when Bellatrix tortured her for information at the Malfoy Manor.

Harry nodded his head in agreement, thinking of possible Death Eaters.

"So Harry, what is the first thing you want to do once this blasted war is over with? Assuming we win, of course," Hermione asked him, wanting to talk about something much lighter.

"Hermione-" Harry started, with a sigh.

"Don't, Harry. I know we promised not to talk about the future after the war, but after all these years of getting absolutely nowhere, I could do with a little reminder of what exactly we're fighting for."

After the Battle of Hogwarts, where all their hopes of the war ending were crushed, Harry, Ron, and Hermione vowed not to speak of their dreams after the war, as to not lose focus of the fight that dragged on.

Harry thought about what she said and allowed his dreams for his future to come to light once again.

"The second this war is over, I am going to propose to Ginny. There's no point in waiting after the war because I know she's the one I want to spend the rest of my life with," said Harry, with a small smile.

"Oh, Harry. That's wonderful," Hermione said. She knew Harry and Ginny were perfect for each other and hoped that the war would be over soon, for all of their sakes.

Harry and Hermione spent the rest of the day making up for lost time and talked about everything that happened over the last few months. Harry filled Hermione on what little news he had about the Order. Not much was happening, since the Death Eaters were lying low for a while.

The day had gone by quickly, and the two friends went back into Hermione's room and went to bed. Hermione conjured a bunk bed for the both of them to sleep in, knowing how uncomfortable the armchair must have been for Harry.

"Good night, Hermione." Harry said.

"Good night," Hermione replied. Hermione lay back in bed, thinking of their conversation of the future. She thought about Harry and Ginny, Neville and Luna, who began dating after the Battle of Hogwarts, and also of Arthur and Molly, who's love never faded, even after so many years. Hermione also thought about her failed romance with Ron, which ended shortly after last Battle. After their passionate kiss in the Room of Requirement, Hermione thought that maybe, they would finally have their chance once the war was over.

Unfortunately, the war hadn't ended, but they did try dating for a few months after the Battle. But eventually, the pair realized they were better off as friends. Hermione was a little sad but she knew it was pointless to continue, when the initial spark was gone. She stayed awake, thinking of the future she could have once the war was over. Hermione wondered if she would ever find someone that would keep her on her toes, and having a relationship that would never lose its spark. After her brief relationship with Ron was over, Hermione decided she did not want to date until after the war was over, she did not want to risk losing anyone else that she loved, or would love.

After thinking about her love life, or lack thereof, Hermione finally drifted off to sleep.

•••

Harry and Hermione awoke early the next day. They both got out of bed and began to get ready for the day. Harry allowed Hermione to give him a disguise. She changed his recognizable black and unruly hair into a sandy brown color. She also changed the color of his eyes to a soft blue. Hermione also put a camouflaging charm on his glasses, to hide them from view.

The pair packed up the tent and began their journey looking for the killed Death Eater.

"Where should we begin," Harry asked, not familiar with the area.

"Let's go back towards the marketplace where I was attacked. I think he should be somewhere around there because the Death Eaters went there after they killed the traitor." Hermione said.

Harry nodded in agreement but a thought crossed his mind.

"Why were they at a Muggle marketplace in the first place? What business did they have there? Unless…" Harry wondered out loud, looking at Hermione. "Unless, they knew you were there?"

Hermione thought about that for a moment but then shook her head.

"No, I don't think they knew I was there because they were surprised when they saw that I was a witch. I think they were waiting for a fellow Death Eater, because the attack seemed to be planned. They certainly were not expecting a female because they looked surprised."

Harry agreed and they both Apparated to an area about half a mile away from the market. When they reached the marketplace, Hermione looked around the area. Bill and Kingsley did a good job of cleaning up any evidence of the attack.

"Hermione, you go around the forest near the market and look there, while I search the alleyways here. Send up green sparks if you find anything, and I'll do the same. Let's meet back over here in two hours and take a break, if we don't find anything" Harry instructed. Hermione nodded, and they split up.

Hermione made her way towards the small forest that was about a mile away from the marketplace. Since the sun was out, it was a lot easier to see where she was going. Every few minutes, Hermione would look up to see if Harry sent up any sparks. If he had, the sparks would stay up for a few minutes before disappearing, and since the trees in the forest were not very tall, she would be able to see the sparks.

After an hour and a half of searching, Hermione thought of going back towards the market to meet up with Harry. She decided to take another route, instead of the way she came in. Hermione turned around and began walking near the edge of the forest towards the market. As she walked, she noticed it was a lot quieter. There were more birds in the middle of the forest than there were in the end of the forest. Hermione walked towards the deeper end, where she had tripped over a broken tree branch. She looked back at the branch and almost walked away from it when she noticed it had a carving near the bottom of the branch. Hermione knelt by the branch and her eyes widened as she realized what it was. The branch was actually a broken wand. The core was hanging out, and the carving on the bottom of the wand was illegible because of the burn marks around it.

Hermione stood up with the broken wand in one hand, and pulled out her own wand in the other. She sent up green sparks to alert Harry. After a few minutes, she sent up more sparks. She heard a loud crack somewhere behind her and she heard Harry's hurried footsteps. Once he reached her, Harry looked around and was confused when he didn't see a body near.

"Hermione, what's going on?" Harry panted.

"Look at this," Hermione said as she thrust the broken wand into his hand, and Harry's eyes widened.

They both looked around the forest and started searching together.

"Hermione, look over there. Do you see that?" Harry said, pointing.

Hermione looked over in the direction he was pointing and saw something laying on the ground, and they both made their way towards it. She gasped when she saw a body covered in dried blood. The body was so broken and battered, but it was hard to tell who it was because he was laying facedown on the ground. His long hair was coated with dried blood, and his right arm was sticking out in an unnatural angle.

"This is barbaric," Hermione whispered. "Even for a Death Eater."

Harry knelt down and moved to turn the body around, to see his face. Hermione used her wand to try and clean him up a bit, there was dirt all over his body since the man was left here for about four days.

Harry turned the body over, and they both gasped when they recognized the face of the Death Eater who was killed in such a horrible way, for trying to leave Voldemort's side.


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer**: The characters and anything familiar belong to J.K. Rowling. Only the plot is mine.

* * *

The man, dead on the forest ground, was none other than Lucius Malfoy.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other in shock. Harry was the first out of the two to recover. He slowly pulled out his wand and knelt by Lucius' body.

Before he began the process of cleaning the body, Harry turned to Hermione, who was almost as pale as a ghost.

"Hermione, if this is too much for you, you can go over to the other side. I can handle cleaning up the rest of him." He said, in a soft voice.

"N-No, Harry, I'm fine." She whispered. "So, he actually left Voldemort. Last I heard, Voldemort kept the Malfoys prisoners, since they abandoned him at the end of the Battle."

"I'm surprised he didn't kill them on the spot," Harry thought out loud.

"Yeah, but the Malfoys were valuable to Voldemort. Lucius had connections in the Ministry, Voldemort was using his manor for headquarters, and not to mention the Malfoy's never-ending back account. I guess Lucius managed to somehow escape" Hermione said.

She began to search Lucius's clothes for clues. She found a broken vial in one of his pockets. She pulled it out and saw a few drops of potion inside. After spending a few minutes examining the potion, she realized what it was.

"Polyjuice potion," she breathed. Harry looked over and took the vial from her.

He pocketed the vial for evidence and stood up. Harry extended his hand to Hermione, who took it, and they both turned over and faced Lucius' body once more.

Harry and Hermione created a grave for Lucius, and laid him to rest. As much as they both hated the man, they couldn't leave his body out there to rot in the forest. Especially after he was killed for turning away from Voldemort.

"Now that Lucius was killed on Voldemort's orders for escaping, I'm sure the rest of the Malfoys were murdered as well," said Harry, grimly. As much as he hated the family, he would never forget how Narcissa lied to Voldemort, which saved his life.

They left the forest and began to make their way over to the marketplace to eat. Harry and Hermione walked in silence, the morning's horrific events weighing heavily on both their minds.

After they ate, they decided to go back to Great Britain and return to the Order.

Before they left the market, Harry remembered something and stopped Hermione from leaving the market area.

"Hermione, before we leave, do you have anything you want to get from where you were staying at?" he asked her.

"Oh yes, let's go back to my shack and I'll grab my books and my pack of supplies," Hermione said. After reaching the Apparition point, she grabbed Harry's hand and Apparated them both to the shack.

They landed a few yards from the shack. Hermione walked inside her shack and began to pick up some of her clothes and personal items, when she noticed something different. Someone had been in there, her things were not taken because she put a protective charm on them, but her food storage was unlocked. She opened it and saw that all her food was gone.

Hermione walked outside the shack, to Harry who was waiting outside.

"Harry, someone's been in here. All my food is gone," she told him. Harry followed her inside the shack and looked around.

"Are you sure it wasn't a stray animal just looking for something to eat," Harry asked, skeptically.

"No, because my food storage is fine, only the lock is open, and it can only be opened by magic," Hermione told him.

Harry looked around the shack and noticed that her books were open and strewn around the small room. They looked around the shack, noticing that nothing but the food was missing. Someone had been living inside the shack while Hermione was gone.

Suddenly, a shout rang throughout the shack.

"_STUPEFY!" _

Harry and Hermione ducked down and pulled out their wands, as a red beam of light shot over their heads. Someone ran inside the shack and yelled out another spell.

Her heart pounding furiously against her chest, Hermione ran forward and yelled,

"_Incarcerous," _ropes flew out of her wand and bound the stranger. His wand fell to the floor with a clatter and Harry bent down to pick it up.

"Who are you?" the stranger shouted, furiously. "Let me go!"

Hermione stepped forward and scrutinized the stranger. He had black hair and brown eyes. His clothes were a little loose on him and the hem of his pants seemed to be too tall to fit his body. The man had a familiar look about him.

"I've seen you at the market before, you're a wizard?" She asked him. "I didn't know there were other magical people around here."

He looked at her with a confused expression on his face, then, of a sudden, the man began to struggle frantically out of the ropes. Harry and Hermione both pointed their wands to the stranger's throat but faltered when they saw what was happening to him. His hair color began to lighten and his features were distorting as well. He shot upwards, and his body filled out to fit the clothes he was wearing. The stranger suddenly had platinum blond hair and stormy grey eyes. His face changed back into its natural pointy features as the effects of the Polyjuice potion wore off.

Hermione's eyes widened as she recognized the man that was bound in front of her.

"Malfoy!' Harry and Hermione exclaimed together.

There, right in front of them, sat Draco Malfoy, their archenemy from Hogwarts, the son of the man they had buried that very morning.

"Who are you?" Draco Malfoy demanded.

Harry and Hermione looked at each other before turning to look at their new prisoner.

"Listen here, Malfoy. We won't tell you who we are until you tell us what you're doing here," said Harry.

"I don't have to answer to you," Malfoy snapped. "Tell me who you are."

Hermione stepped forward and locked eyes with Malfoy.

"You either come with us, where we will offer you full protection in exchange for information on your purpose here and on Voldemort." She offered.

Harry looked at her with surprise, but he decided to go along with whatever she was planning.

Malfoy's eyes widened at the mention of Voldemort's name, but he quickly masked his surprise with an expression of indifference.

"Or what?" he sneered.

"Or, we will turn you over to the Aurors for Death Eater involvement, where you will undoubtedly receive the Dementor's Kiss," said Harry, with an edge to his voice.

"The choice is yours, Malfoy, we won't answer any of your questions until you make your decision," Hermione said, looking expectantly at him.

Malfoy thought over his options and looked up angrily at the two.

"If I go with you, what about my father?" He asked.

Harry and Hermione looked uneasily at each other before answering him.

If possible, Malfoy's face paled slightly at their hesitation, but his eyes shone with dejection, as if he already knew what they were about to tell him.

"Who-who did it?" He asked, looking at anywhere but at the two that stood in front of him.

"There were two Death Eaters, Thorfinn Rowle, and another one we couldn't identify. We can't tell you anymore until you come with us to headquarters," said Hermione, looking at him with an emotion she thought was pity.

Malfoy's stared stonily at them before he accepted their offer of protection.

Harry pulled out an old shoebox and set it on a table. He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the box.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked him.

"Oh, this is a port key that will take us back to headquarters," Harry answered her.

Hermione nodded and motioned for Malfoy to stand up when Harry activated the port key.

The shoebox glowed and blue light was coming off of it. Harry looked over at Hermione and Malfoy.

"We have about one minute before it deactivates. You go in first," he pointed to Hermione, "and Malfoy will go after you. I will come after," Harry instructed.

Hermione touched the port key and felt the familiar sensation of a hook pulling her by the navel. She landed in the kitchen of number 12 Grimmauld Place, which she hasn't seen for three months. She heard Harry and Malfoy arrive outside in front of the house. Malfoy had to memorize the address before the house became visible to him.

As they stepped inside the house, she looked around and saw that no one was there. That was a good thing, so they could question Malfoy in private before the others came in.

Harry and Malfoy came into the house and Hermione followed them up the stairs. Harry led Malfoy into a spare bedroom and shut the door after Hermione stepped inside. After making sure the door was locked, Harry and Hermione turned to face Draco, who made his way over to the bed.

"What are we doing inside the House of Black?" Malfoy asked, his eyes darting between Harry and Hermione.

"We are at the headquarters for the Order of the Phoenix," said Harry slowly, watching Malfoy's reaction, surprised that he didn't know after Yaxley was accidentally brought into Grimmauld Place.

Malfoy's eyes narrowed but when he didn't say anything, Harry continued.

"You will stay with us and we will offer you full protection in exchange for everything and anything you know about Voldemort's whereabouts, what happened to him, and any information you can give us about any other Death Eaters. You cannot leave the house and the minute you step a toe out of line, we will hand you over to the Dementors," said Harry. He wasn't taking any chances with Malfoy.

Malfoy rolled his eyes but he nodded to show his understanding.

"I'm serious, Malfoy. Now, before we tell you who we are, we're going to have to perform the Unbreakable Vow to ensure that you'll swear your allegiance to us and not reveal anything about the Order and its members, to anyone outside of the Order," Harry said.

At the mention of an Unbreakable Vow, Hermione's eyes widened, and she turned to Harry.

"Are you sure about this, I don't thi-" she began, but was interrupted by Malfoy's protests.

"I already told you, I'll tell you and your bloody Order whatever you want to know, as long as it keeps me from going to Azkaban," said Malfoy, angrily.

"We can't take any risks," said Harry simply. "Either you allow us to perform the Vow, or you're out of here."

Malfoy sat on the bed, his grey eyes flashing with fury.

"Fine, get on with it then," he spat out, after a moment of hesitation.

Harry unbound him and held out his hand to Malfoy. Draco reluctantly joined his hand with Harry's and Hermione stood beside them as the bonder.

She cautiously placed the tip of her wand onto their joined hands and looked expectantly at Harry.

"Draco Malfoy, do you swear to keep the location of the Order of the Phoenix to yourself and only yourself?" Harry began the vow.

"I swear," vowed Draco, uncomfortably. At the mention of his vowed agreement, a strand of liquid fire shout out of Hermione's wand and bound itself around their joined hands.

"Do you swear to tell me everything you know about Voldemort's activities and whereabouts, as well as the Death Eaters' involvement?"

"I swear." Another strand of liquid fire entwined itself around the boys' hands.

"And finally, do you swear your allegiance to the Order and only the Order, as well as keeping our identities a secret from anyone outside of the Order?"

"I swear." The final strand of liquid fire added on to their hands, and the vow was complete.

Hermione lowered her wand and finished the spell. Harry conjured two chairs for himself and Hermione, which he placed directly in front of Draco, and sat down.

Harry looked Draco evenly in the eye, before he raised his wand at himself and Hermione. He changed their appearances to their natural state, then watched as Draco's face distorted in stunned disbelief, and then anger.

"I am Harry Potter, and I'm sure you remember Hermione Granger?"

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	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: The characters and anything familiar belong to J.K. Rowling. Only the plot is mine.

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"I am Harry Potter, and I'm sure you remember Hermione Granger?"

Draco Malfoy tensed when he realized who held him captive at the Order's headquarters. Of course he remembered Harry bloody Potter and Hermione Granger. Along with the Weasel, they were the wizarding world's three favorite people and the last people he wanted to be around.

To say that Draco Malfoy was angry was an understatement. After Harry and Hermione revealed their identities, Draco sat on the bed, wondering when his life was going to stop spiraling downwards. His father was dead, and his two least favorite people from Hogwarts held him prisoner. Draco supposed it was much better than being held prisoner by the Dark Lord, but he hated being under the Wonder Boy's watch.

Draco looked up to see Harry and Hermione looking expectantly at him.

"Come to gloat, Potter? Happy that my father is dead and now you finally have me locked up?" Draco spat.

Harry rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to retort, but Hermione conjured a chair, and sat down in front of Draco.

"Listen Malfoy, no one is gloating about what happened to your father. But, I think we can all agree that if we just try and put our rivalries from Hogwarts aside, this… arrangement can go smoothly," she said, in a 'no nonsense' tone, that she used in their Hogwarts days.

"Sod off, Granger. I don't need you to preach to me about getting along for this so called 'arrangement,' I'll tell you what you want to know as long as you all stay out of my way," Draco said, angrily.

Something snapped inside her. She was done trying to mediate things for the two hot-tempered boys. If Malfoy was going to continue to treat her with contempt after she guaranteed his protection, then she was done trying.

"Fine," Hermione huffed, "as if anyone would want to willingly spend any of their time around your sorry arse anyways."

Draco rolled his eyes and clenched his jaw. He looked at each of them, as if he thought of something.

"What happened to your sidekick, Potter? Did you finally realize his worthlessness, and kicked his poverty stricken arse to the curb," Draco sneered.

"Ron is twice the wizard you could ever be, Malfoy," Hermione said scathingly.

Draco looked at her with one eyebrow raised and rolled his eyes.

The sound of the front door opening and Ron's exclamations of hunger alerted them that a few Order members have returned to Headquarters. Hermione stood up and turned to leave.

"I'm going to go and catch up with the others, Harry. Good luck with this one," she said, glaring at Malfoy.

Malfoy smirked back at her, as she closed the door and made her way down the stairs towards the kitchen where Hermione could hear the others talking. She was fuming from Draco's spiteful words and hoped that Harry could keep his temper in check to get the information they needed to try and end this bloody war once and for all.

She entered the kitchen, slowly, knowing that the others were unaware of her arrival. Hermione smiled when she saw Ginny helping Mrs. Weasley setting the table, while Bill, Kingsley, and Ron were already seated at the dinner table. Ron was the only one already digging into his plate while the others were still piling their plates with food.

"That mission was a bloody waste of our time," complained Ron, while stuffing his already full mouth with more bread.

"Ron, don't talk with your mouth full. It's disgusting," Hermione said, smiling at him as she walked into the room.

Ron looked around to see who had spoke and his eyes bulged out as they rested on Hermione.

"Hermione!" Ron exclaimed. He stood up and gave his best friend a big hug. Mrs. Weasley and Ginny both hurried out of the kitchen and embraced her as well.

"Oh, Hermione dear, how are you feeling?" Mrs. Weasley asked, as she pulled out of her hug and examined her thoroughly.

"I feel much better, thank you Mrs. Weasley, I missed you all a lot," she said, looking at all of them.

"We missed you too, Hermione. Sounds like you had yourself quite the adventure," said Ginny, while she brought out another plate for Hermione. The girls sat down at the dinner table and began eating.

After they ate, Hermione told Ron, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny about what happened at the marketplace. They stayed quiet during her retelling, and gasped in all the right places. After Hermione was finished, she knew they would ask about what happened after.

"So where's Harry?" Ginny asked, looking at Hermione with a worried expression.

"Did you find out who the Death Eater was, the one that betrayed them?" Kingsley asked.

Hermione raised her eyes up at the ceiling, wondering when Harry's interrogation would be over. She opened her mouth to answer their questions, when she saw someone entering the kitchen from the corner of her eye.

Hermione heard the scraping of the chair against the floor when Ginny got up and ran to embrace Harry.

"Harry! What were you doing," she asked him.

Harry looked at Hermione and she shook her head to tell him that she hadn't told them about Malfoy yet.

Harry sighed and sat down next to Ginny. He turned to face the others.

"We found the Death Eater that was murdered by Rowle and the other Death Eater," he started. Harry looked at Kingsley who was waiting expectantly to hear who the Death Eater who turned on Voldemort was.

"It was Lucius Malfoy," Harry finally said.

Kingsley sighed and shook his head, while the others expressed their shock in a more verbal way.

"No way," Bill and Ron exclaimed at the same time.

"Wow," breathed Ginny. "Who would've thought?"

Mrs. Weasley sat down next to them and shook her head, sadly.

"That's not all," Harry continued. "We found Draco Malfoy, alive."

"That git," Ron said. "What did you do with him, Azkaban?"

Everyone looked at Harry, waiting to find out what happened to the boy that hated them so fiercely.

"No Ron, we didn't send him off to Azkaban. As the Ministry is infiltrated with Death Eaters, I really don't think that would've been the best idea," Hermione said. "We brought him here, for information."

Everyone in the kitchen protested about a Death Eater inside the Order's Headquarters.

"Are you mad," Ron exclaimed. "How do you know he won't run back to Voldemort and tell him our location?" He winced at mentioning Voldemort's name, looking appalled at his two best friends.

Hermione looked offended at his questioning of her sanity.

"Calm down Ron, his father was killed on Voldemort's orders for running away. Do you really think he would go back to him, after what he did?" Harry asked him.

"You never know, the bloody coward," Ron muttered.

"What did he tell you, Harry," Kingsley asked. Harry looked at the head of the Order, while everyone else waited for him to tell them about Malfoy's information.

"Kingsley, I bound him by the Unbreakable Vow, so he won't be able to tell anyone about the Order. We promised him full protection for his information but I think we should talk about what he told me before the meeting tonight," Harry said. Kingsley nodded and motioned for Harry to follow him. The two men stood up and went to another room to discuss what Draco told Harry.

Ron looked upset about being left out, so Hermione began conversing with him and Ginny, about everything that happened during her absence.

Mrs. Weasley set a plate full of food on a tray and brought it over with a goblet full of pumpkin juice. Ron reached for it but Mrs. Weasley held it away from him.

"No, dear. This is for the Malfoy boy. Merlin knows when he last had a good meal," she said. Ron looked at her in disbelief.

"Mum, you can't be serious," he said. "Who cares about when that git last ate? He can starve to death for all I care."

Mrs. Weasley looked disapprovingly at Ron and handed Hermione the tray of food.

"Hermione, dear, would you take this over to him, so he won't go hungry," she asked Hermione.

Hermione took the tray uncomfortably. "Um, sure Mrs. Weasley."

Hermione pulled out her wand and levitated the tray of food to hover in front of her as she left the kitchen. She caught Ron and Ginny trying to use an Extendable Ear to listen in on Harry's conversation with Kingsley but they saw that the door was protected by an Imperturbable charm. Ginny smiled sheepishly at her and grabbed Ron as she went back towards the kitchen.

Hermione walked up the stairs and hesitated before entering Draco's room. She knocked on the door twice, before opening it. Hermione braced herself and walked inside the room.

Draco was sprawled out on the bed, with a book in his hands.

"What do you want?" Draco said, without turning around to look at who entered his room.

Hermione set the tray of food on the nightstand next to the bed.

"Mrs. Weasley sent this up for you, Malfoy. A simple 'thank you' would be nice."

Draco looked over at the food, and scoffed at her.

"Leave me alone, Granger," he said, glaring at her.

Hermione rolled her eyes and turned to leave the room.

"Fine, don't expect me to bring you anymore food if you're going to act like that," she retorted as she left his room.

"As if I care, Granger. The less I have to look at your face, the happier I will be."

Unfortunately, her threat to leave him starving was not to be fulfilled. Mrs. Weasley continued to send her up to Draco's room with food over the next few days since Hermione was able to control her temper around him without resorting to violence. Hermione and Ginny took turns sending up trays of food to him since neither girl wanted to ruin their whole day by interacting with Draco.

After a few weeks of living comfortably at Grimmauld, Hermione wondered when they would begin their Order meetings and form a plan for battle.

She sought out Harry one day as he was leaving Ginny's room. Harry jumped when he heard her call out his name and he let out a sigh of relief when he saw that it wasn't Mr. or Mrs. Weasley.

"Harry, was Malfoy's information of any use? When are we going to call a meeting and do something," she asked him, almost impatiently.

Harry walked with her down the stairs as he thought about what she said.

"I was actually going to talk to you and Ron about this. Let's call for a meeting tonight and we'll talk about what Malfoy told me," he replied.

Hermione nodded excitedly and the pair went off to tell the rest of the Order about the meeting that was to be held after dinner. _Finally_, she thought. Hermione was getting restless, knowing that there were more Death Eaters out there and Voldemort could be planning anything at this point. Muggleborns were still disappearing everyday and Hermione wanted to put a stop to it all.

When dinnertime approached, more Order members came to number 12 Grimmauld Place and joined the others for dinner. Hermione and Ginny helped Mrs. Weasley set the table, while Harry and Ron were set peeling potatoes for dinner.

Familiar faces crowded the dining room and Hermione realized how much she missed the people around her. George sat at the dining table, laughing with Charlie about something while Percy was conversing quietly with Kingsley. Mr. Weasley was helping Bill with a report and they both looked up when Hermione entered the dining room and smiled at her before moving their papers so she could set the table.

Teddy Lupin was playing in the living room with Bill and Fleur's daughter, Victoire, while Fleur and Teddy's grandmother, Andromeda, were watching over them. Parvati and Padma Patil arrived soon after and cooed over the children. Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnigan came and joined the other boys at the table, while Neville and Luna arrived together and helped Mrs. Weasley with dinner.

Hermione took the tray that Mrs. Weasley prepared for Draco, and made her way up the stairs. Tonight was her night to feed Draco and she wanted to make it quick so she can join the others for dinner. Right when she ascended the stairs, Neville passed by and raised an eyebrow questioningly at her.

"Hey, Hermione. Where are you going?" Neville asked Hermione.

_Damn_, she thought. The Order members that knew about Draco wanted to wait until the meeting to tell the others about him.

"You'll find out at the meeting, I guess," Hermione offered, lamely. She didn't want to lie to Neville, since he'd be finding out after dinner anyway.

Neville shrugged his shoulders at her vague explanation and walked away, thinking of whom the tray could be for. Hermione continued up the stairs and arrived at the door to Draco Malfoy's room. She knocked once, as she always did, while balancing the tray on one hand to open the door with the other. Draco looked up as she walked in. Hermione ignored him and set the tray on the nightstand.

"Having a party down there?" Draco asked casually, as she made to leave the room.

Hermione turned around, a fleeting look of surprise flickered across her face at the fact that Draco Malfoy was willingly starting a conversation with one of the people he hated most.

"Er, not really. Just a couple of Order members came over for dinner and then we're holding a meeting after," Hermione told him.

Draco nodded and picked up his food and began eating it. Hermione watched him eat, feeling almost sorry for him. He has been holing himself up in his room, surrounded by people who didn't like him. _Well, it's his fault no one likes him. His attitude is appalling,_ Hermione thought to herself.

Draco looked up to see Hermione, still standing by the door staring at him.

"What," he asked her. "You should go back down there before Potter and Weasley get it into their thick heads that I've gone and murdered you up here."

Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Despite your complete disrespect for the people who saved you, housed you, _and_ fed you, would you like to come down to dinner with the rest of us," she asked him, fighting the grimace that threatened to form on her face. Even though she felt a modicum of pity for him, she still detested the boy and knew that his presence downstairs would set off the rest of the Order.

Draco looked surprised at her offer but a sneer quickly took its place.

"Whenever I want to kill myself from boredom, I'll take you up on your offer, Granger," he replied.

Hermione sighed.

"Suit yourself, Malfoy," she said, as she left the room.

Hermione went back down to the dining room and joined the others. During dinner, the house was filled with loud chatter and laughter as everyone reminisced with each other. Hermione told the newcomers about the attack in Honduras and everyone was shocked about the Death Eater activity. Throughout dinner, Hermione wondered how Draco was doing alone in his room, with his tray of food. She felt sorry for him since his father was found killed, and his mother was unheard from. Hermione often had nightmares about Lucius' body and how he was killed. She wondered how Draco was holding up, and whether or not Narcissa Malfoy was still alive.

Ginny sat down next to Hermione and started eating.

"What's up, Hermione?" She asked her after noticing Hermione's pensive expression.

"Oh, nothing really, Ginny. Even though Malfoy's a real git, I can't help but feel sorry for him," she said, quietly.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I would go crazy if that happened to my dad. I wonder what happened to his mum," Ginny said.

Hermione shrugged and they both continued eating their meal. After dinner, everyone stood up to help clear the dining table and prepare the room for the meeting. Fleur and Andromeda took the children upstairs for bedtime as the older Order members began arriving. Professor McGonnagell arrived with Professors Flitwick, Sprout, and Hagrid.

"'Ermione! Glad to see yer doing alrigh'," Hagrid exclaimed when he found Hermione. Hermione smiled and tried not to fall over as Hagrid patted her shoulder.

"Thanks Hagrid. How've you been?" Hermione asked him.

"Oh, I'm doing fine. Not many students left ter teach since the end of the last battle, yeh know?"

"Yeah, I understand how many families would feel unsafe sending their kids off for the year," said Hermione, sadly. It was a shame that so many children would not be able to experience Hogwarts. "I'm just happy that we have managed to keep Hogwarts from the Death Eaters."

"Aye," agreed Hagrid. "I'd rather die than let those Death Eater scum take over Hogwarts again."

Hagrid and Hermione made their way to join the others for the meeting just as Kingsley called for order.

"Okay, everyone. Let's begin this meeting. It has been quite awhile since we've held a meeting, as there has been a lot going on," Kingsley began. He looked at Hermione and continued. "Our Hermione here landed herself into a spot of trouble, but of course, she managed to get herself out of it and we now have new leads on Death Eater activity."

Hermione blushed as everyone's attention was on her.

"Now, we have gained a source that shall be unnamed, for his safety. " Kingsley said. Hermione squirmed in her seat as she berated herself for feeling bad enough to invite Draco to dinner. She didn't think about how Kingsley would keep him quiet for his safety as well.

"He has been able to tell us about several of the Death Eaters' plans and we have called this meeting to set up missions to try and capture as many of them as we can." He continued. The room was silent as everyone processed what Kingsley said. "This war has gone on long enough, and it's time we ended it once and for all."

Everyone cheered as Kingsley finished his speech. He motioned for Harry to stand up and took a seat next to Mr. Weasley.

Harry stood up and flushed as everyone focused their attention on him. He cleared his throat and began speaking.

"Er, yeah, so I talked to our source and he managed to tell me everything he knew about what the Death Eaters are planning." He started. "He informed me of an attack that will happen at the Ministry to target the Muggleborns who come in for questioning. He also said that the Death Eaters take away the Muggleborns who register themselves and use them as help for the house elves, or they kill them," Harry said angrily.

Gasps were heard around the room as Harry explained the disappearance of the Muggleborns. Hermione sat fuming as she thought about the people that were forced into slavery for the Purebloods.

"But that's not all," Harry went on. "It will be a huge attack. Possibly another battle, once we alert the Aurors, and start training again. The Death Eaters are planning a huge massacre. They're not opposed to taking down anyone who won't go over to their side. They don't want there to be a middle ground anymore, either you're with them, or against them." He finished.

Somber silence filled the room after Harry informed the Order of what was to come. It was a few minutes before anyone spoke.

"But what about the whole 'preserving the Purebloods' thing Voldemort is always going on about?" Neville asked. "Doesn't he want Purebloods to prevail over everyone else? He is basically going to wipe out half of the magical population."

"Yeah, Voldemort thinks a majority of the people will be terrified enough to join him to save their families." Harry replied.

Everyone around the room nodded at this and looked around at each other before making plans to train and send off a message to the Aurors who were not a part of the Order. Hermione took a minute to look at the people around her. She has not regretting joining the wizarding world, despite the fear and grievances it brought her.

Ever since she found out about her true nature, Hermione finally found a place where she actually fit in. Hermione lived a comfortable life in the Muggle world with her parents, without the threat of war looming around her, but even at a young age, she knew that she was destined for greater things. Hermione had always felt out of place in the Muggle world, but since she learned about her true magical nature, she finally found a place where she found other people who were just like her. She hadn't gotten off to a great start with Harry and Ron, but it took a moment of life and death with a mountain troll to bring them together. Although things did not work out for her and Ron romantically, she was happy that they were able to preserve their friendship, as he was her best friend, and Hermione could not bear to lose him.

Harry, on the other hand, she considered him to be the brother she never had. She knew he felt the same about her, seeing Hermione as his sister. They related to each other in a way that a only brother and sister could. Hermione figured it was due to the fact that they were both only children, and how they both were not raised in the wizarding world.

Hermione thought of those boys as her rock, they helped her when she realized that she could not remove her parents' memory charm, as the war was not over. The Weasleys and the rest of the Order were like her family and she would rather die than give them up. Hermione took a moment to appreciate every single person in that room and thought about how they have contributed to her life, ever since she has joined the wizarding world.

Each and everyone one of these people were willing to fight for her and others of her heritage, and she would not fail to do the same for them.

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	6. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: All characters are J.K. Rowling's. Only the plot is mine.**

*****Finally some Dramione interaction! I hope you guys like it so far..

**Reviews would be greatly appreciated! Even if you hate the story, please let me know why so I can try to fix it**

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The door swung shut as Hermione left in a huff of irritation. Draco waited until she left before he flopped backwards on the bed. He lay back on the mattress and covered his face in his hands.

He finally allowed himself to wallow in self-pity over the events that have occurred over the past few days. Over the last few days, Hermione or Ginny would randomly check in on him between bringing up his meals so he held up his guard and busied himself with the books that he found around the room. Now that everyone in the house is busy with the Order meeting, Draco could finally relax.

_I never thought I'd see the day when I would become Hermione Granger's charity case,_ Draco thought. As he heard the sounds of loud chatter and the bustle of cutlery against the dishes from downstairs, Draco idly wondered why his grandmother's portrait wasn't screeching at the noise. He remembered having to keep quiet when he'd visit this house when he was younger, and how he hated that portrait. She was much more tolerable towards the Malfoys but Draco shuddered to think how she reacted when this lot took up residence at the Noble House of Black. Draco wondered how the Order has managed to silence it, especially since the house is associated with the Order now. His grand parents must be rolling in their graves at the thought.

Draco hated to admit that he was _slightly_ tempted to take up Granger on her offer of joining them for dinner. Slightly. As much as he hated the lot downstairs, Draco detested being cooped up in a bedroom for days, even more than he hated the people in the Order. But his pride and common sense overruled his momentary lapse of sanity. Draco knew it was safer to keep his identity a secret from the rest of the Order for now, until Kingsley decided to reveal him.

Draco let out a sigh as he finally opened the mental wounds the past five years had inflicted upon his heart and soul. Before his sixth year at Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy never thought he'd be the type of man who'd ever let anyone or anything shatter him but unfortunately, the Second Wizarding War has been hurting almost everyone in one way or another each and every day. Whole families like Draco's have been ruined; people are killed or have gone missing, and everyone's morale is shattering each day the war goes on. Draco would've given up had he been a part of the Order but they seem as determined as ever, despite any leads. But now, with Draco's help, he has hopes that the Dark Lord will be vanquished once and for all.

At one point in his life, Draco proudly used his family's connections to the Dark side as a way to hold himself higher than everyone else, but as he reflected on his childish actions, Draco realized how stupid he was to ever want anything to do with a prejudiced, blood thirsty, hypocrite. After Harry revealed that Voldemort was indeed a half blood, Draco couldn't find any more reasons to hold on to his already wavering loyalty towards the Dark side. Throughout his service to Voldemort, Draco saw how he treated his followers. Voldemort would mercilessly kill any Death Eater who failed him in anyway or were invaluable to him. If Voldemort truly wanted to preserve the Purebloods, and persecute people of lower blood, he wouldn't have carelessly depleted a good part of the Pureblood population.

As Draco observed Voldemort's methods, he realized that Voldemort was only after power. He used the Pureblood supremacist values to rein in more followers but what he truly wanted was world dominance over wizards, and to have Muggles under their bidding.

Draco's train of thought led him to think about his father and how unfair it was that Lucius was taken away from him right after Lucius finally made the right choice to protect his family.

_A fat load of good that did for us_, Draco thought. He thought about the grievances his family went through after the last battle. They were held prisoners in their own home while Voldemort tortured and humiliated each and every one of them. Lucius was almost tortured into insanity like the Longbottoms but his resolve to save his family kept him sane. But Lucius was never the same again.

As for Narcissa…

Draco closed his eyes as he thought of his mother. Draco felt his heart clench as an image of her flashed through his mind. Voldemort was infuriated with Narcissa after he realized that she dared to lie to him for Harry Potter's sake. Narcissa kept up a strong fight, while Lucius and himself were locked in the dungeons below, as Voldemort instructed his Death Eaters to hit her with every curse they knew before Voldemort delivered her final punishment. Draco compared himself to the Weasel for the first time that night, as he knew how it was like to be helpless while the person you loved was suffering upstairs, and knowing that there was nothing you could do about it.

One lone tear slid down his cheek as Draco refused to let himself think of what had happened to her, he couldn't let himself get to that point again.

He closed his eyes and fell into a fitful sleep as he dreamed about when he was on the run with his father.

_Draco sat on the cellar floor as he reminisced about his childhood, when everyone believed that the Dark Lord was defeated by little Harry Potter. Draco let his mind wander to the simpler times in his life as he slumped against the dungeon wall. These memories helped keep him sane while he was isolated in the dungeons, in a cell away from his parents. The Death Eaters blacked out and silenced the dungeons completely so there was absolutely no way of telling who was near him. _

_He shot upright as he heard a door opening as someone tried to walk quietly into his cell. Draco stood up warily, as he had not had a visitor in his cell for weeks. Dim lights appeared and Draco blinked owlishly as he tried adjusting to the new light._

_After he finally got used to seeing again, his eyes bulged out as he saw Lucius stumble into the room, his wild eyes darting left and right as he threw Draco a wand. _

_Draco caught the wand and looked down to see that it was his old Hawthorn wand that was clutched between his fingers. Draco looked questioningly at his father and opened his mouth to speak._

"_Hush, Draco. There's no time! Use your wand to open the doors; my magic has been severely weakened but the Manor's wards should still respond to the Malfoy family's magic," Lucius hurriedly whispered._

_Heart pounding, Draco nodded and used his wand to open the cell doors. He felt the warmth of his magic surging through him again, after not being able to use it for a long period of time. As they walked through the now open door, his father grabbed Draco's arm to steady himself as they walked up the dungeon stairs._

_Draco could hear the Death Eaters who stayed behind, lounge around his house. His blood boiled in anger as he looked at the people who have humiliated his family in their own home. _

_Lucius shook his head at Draco as he led him quietly towards an empty corridor. _

"_Cast a Disillusionment charm on the both of us," Lucius muttered quietly._

_Draco did as he was told and felt his father grasp his hand as he led him further down the corridor. _

_All of a sudden, shouts and the sound of glass being broken were heard below them._

"_Macnair! You bloody idiot! The Malfoys are gone! What the fuck were you doing up here when you should've been standing guard at the dungeons below?"_

_Draco heard several people rushing throughout the Manor, in search for the missing Malfoys._

"_Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck," a Death Eater was heard muttering nearby. _

_Draco froze as he heard how close the Death Eater was. His father almost stumbled on the floor at Draco's sudden stop and the Death Eater turned to look for the cause of the sound._

"_Malfoy? I know you're around here. Show yourself before I summon our Dark Lord."_

_Heart racing, Draco and his father stood completely still against the wall as the Death Eater walked around looking for them._

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

Draco shot upright, his body glistening in sweat as he heard someone behind the door. His heart pounded fiercely against his chest as he tried to calm himself down.

_I'm at the House of Black, I'm at the headquarters Order of the Phoenix,_ he repeated to himself.

The door opened, and Hermione poked her head inside.

"Malfoy? Just wanted to check in, and see how you're doing," Hermione said. She frowned as she saw the state he was in. Draco's face was paler than ever and he was shining in sweat. Hermione opened the door wider, and stepped inside the room.

"What's wrong?" She asked him, as she saw him panting quietly on the bed.

"Nothing, Granger. Get the fuck out," Draco snapped at her.

Hermione let out a sigh, as she prepared herself mentally to deal with his attitude.

"Malfoy, you can't isolate yourself in here. It's not healthy, you've obviously had a nightmare and I think you need to open up about it," Hermione started as she stepped closer to him but kept a safe distance. "I know we don't like each other but I'm not so spiteful to use your… situation against you."

"Shut the fuck up, Granger. I'm not telling you shit," he retorted.

Hermione resisted the urge to strangle him as she turned around and opened the door to leave the room in frustration, but lately, that hasn't been any help at all.

Draco lay back on his bed and closed his eyes, thinking she left. He let out a sigh in apprehension as he thought about going back to sleep.

"My parents don't even know who I am."

Draco opened his eyes and turned to see Hermione, who was still standing in his room. He looked at her questioningly and opened his mouth to speak.

"Wha-" He started, but Hermione continued speaking, as if she hadn't heard him.

"I had to put the strongest Memory Charms on both my mum and dad when I set out with Harry and Ron five years ago. I erased every _single_ memory they had of me, so they no longer know that they have a daughter," she said in a low voice. "I gave them new identities and made them relocate far away from Great Britain to keep them safe. Even if this war ends anytime soon, _if_ we do win, there's almost no chance of getting their memories back without something drastic happening to their minds. The charm is too strong and has been in place for five years," Hermione said quietly.

Draco looked at her for a moment, unsure of what to say.

"Why are you telling me this?" He finally asked her.

"Because, Malfoy, you're not the only one who's grieving. I am truly sorry about your father, and maybe one day when it's safe, we can take you back to where we buried him, but you can't just mope around in your room like this. This war is affecting all of us, not just you," Hermione replied, staring at Draco, waiting for his reaction.

"You buried my father?" Draco asked, softly.

Hermione stared at him in confusion. _That's all he got from everything I said? _She thought in annoyance.

"What? Of course we did, we weren't going to just leave him out there like that, so Harry and I buried him in the forest," she told him.

Draco opened his mouth and closed it, unsure of what to say. If the roles were switched, and the Death Eaters found a dead Order member, they would certainly use the corpse as an example to others and as an object of ridicule amongst themselves.

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, mistaking his silence for anger.

"Look, I know it wasn't anything you Malfoys are used to. I'm sure there's a huge Malfoy family plot in a cemetery somewhere around your precious Manor, but considering the circumstances-"

"Thank you," Draco said quietly. He averted his eyes and was annoyed with himself for actually _thanking_ Hermione Granger for something. But Draco was grateful that they laid his father's body to rest.

Hermione's eyes widened as she stopped speaking. _What the… _She almost thought that she had imagined it but then she saw a dull flush creeping on his face.

"Um, yeah. No need to thank me, like I said, whenever it's safe, we can take you to him…" Hermione trailed off, unsure of how to respond to him.

"Yeah, sure. Just let me know when," Draco replied shortly.

"Er, yeah okay. I will. Um, good night then," Hermione said lamely. Draco nodded at her and watched her as she left.

Hermione turned awkwardly towards the door and left Draco's room.

She hoped things wouldn't be so tense anymore with Draco living in the house, but only time will tell.

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**Like it? Love it? Hate it? Review and let me know what you think please :-**)


	7. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: All characters are J.K. Rowling's. Only the plot is mine.**

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The next day found the higher-ranking Order members planning for the attack on the Ministry. Harry was pacing around the sitting room when Hermione finished her breakfast and joined the others.

"Harry, if you don't stop pacing, you'll wear a hole on the living room floor," Hermione scolded, lightly.

Harry gave her a weak smile and ceased his pacing. He walked towards the group and squeezed himself between Hermione and Ron on the sofa.

"Sorry guys, it's just frustrating not knowing when the attack will happen," Harry said. The others murmured in agreement.

"Yes but don't you think it would help us if Malfoy came down and actually helped us with the planning," Hermione offered. She gestured around the room and continued, "everyone here already knows about him, and we could definitely use his input, considering the fact that he was once part of Voldemort's circle."

Hermione looked around to see everyone's reactions. Ron rolled his eyes at her suggestion while the rest of the group seemed to think it over.

"You know, that's not a bad idea, Hermione," Harry said thoughtfully. "But it's his attitude that I think will make this difficult, if we could just get him in a reasonable mood, maybe we can actually get somewhere with planning the attack."

Hermione was a little surprised at Harry's maturity, but she supposed the war had forced them all to grow up prematurely. Ron grumbled a little about having Draco join them but he didn't make any moves to protest.

Harry sighed heavily as he stood up and went upstairs to ask Draco to join them. The room stayed silent as they awaited Draco's arrival.

Hermione felt bad for Harry, this war weighed heavily on everyone's shoulders but more so for Harry. He had to deal with Voldemort ever since he joined the Wizarding world at the young age of eleven. He felt that it was his duty to end the war and ensure everyone's safety because of that stupid prophecy, and to avenge his parents' deaths, as well as Sirius'.

Hermione thought of her own parents, who were living comfortably, she hoped, in Australia as Wendell and Monica Wilkins. She hoped fervently that the war would be over soon so she could restore their memories and have them in her lives again. Unfortunately, a memory charm that strong and that has held in place for about five years will almost definitely cause some kind of damage. Even if reversing the charm is successful, she hoped her parents would find a way to forgive her for robbing them of their memories. Hermione was torn away from these depressing thoughts by Ginny's voice.

"Do you really think he'll actually come down and join us?" Ginny asked Hermione, skeptically, as everyone turned to look at her.

Hermione shrugged, "I don't know, but hopefully he will. His information will be really useful for this mission," she replied.

"Yeah, I know but I doubt he'll leave his precious haven," Ginny said. Hermione silently agreed with her but she felt that it was worth giving it a shot, anyway. They barely had any leads and with Draco helping them, they might find out more about how the Death Eaters operated. Hermione found it a little odd that Draco didn't offer much information about the Death Eaters, aside from the attack on the Ministry. _Maybe the Malfoys weren't trusted because of Narcissa's betrayal,_ Hermione thought to herself.

After several moments of silence, the Order members began to talk amongst themselves, while waiting for Harry to come down with or without Draco Malfoy. Hermione began to think that maybe Draco wouldn't come and wondered what was taking Harry so long. She decided to wait for a few minutes before going upstairs to check on the boys. She glanced at Ginny who had a pensive look on her face while she chewed on her lip. Hermione knew that when Ginny started to bite her lip, she was worrying about something.

"Hey, Gin. Don't worry, I'm sure Harry is just trying to convince Malfoy to come down," Hermione said, trying to console the younger girl.

Ginny blinked as she looked at Hermione and gave her a small smile.

"Yeah, I know, but it's Malfoy. I still don't trust him," Ginny replied.

"I don't either, but I highly doubt Malfoy will try anything when we're the only ones who are offering him protection. Even if he tries to escape, he knows he has nowhere left to go. Malfoy may be an annoying prat but he's not stupid enough to bite the hand that feeds him," Hermione said to her, trying to convince herself of Malfoy's questionable loyalty.

Ginny thought about what she said and opened her mouth to answer but just then, Harry came down the stairs, alone. Everyone stopped talking and looked up to see Harry walk into the room.

"What happened, Harry? Malfoy didn't want to come down?" Hermione asked him.

"Wha-?" Harry began to ask, looking confused, before turning around and looking behind him. "He was just behind me!" Harry walked out of the room towards the stairs, as he called out Draco's name.

Harry almost walked into Draco who was coming down the stairs.

"What's wrong, Potter, missed me already?" Draco asked him, smirking. Harry rolled his eyes as both boys walked into the sitting room. They kept an arm's length of distance between them and joined the rest of the Order. Harry went towards Ginny, who looked a little surprised to see Draco, and sat next to her. Draco looked around the room for a place to sit and saw space between Hermione and Ron, and a spot near George Weasley. Scowling, he walked towards Hermione who realized what he was doing and scooted next to Ron, leaving a spot for Draco next to her instead. Hermione figured it was better for Draco to sit near her instead of Ron, to avoid conflict between the two hot-tempered boys.

Draco sat down next to Hermione but left a foot of space between them. Hermione noticed this and rolled her eyes at him. Ron tensed up a little when Draco sat down but he chose to ignore his presence instead of acknowledging him by throwing an insult. Hermione was thankful for this because no one would be able to focus if the two boys fought each other in the middle of their planning.

"Okay everyone, you all know Draco Malfoy, so I don't think we need to do any introductions," Harry began. Draco scoffed at this and looked at the rest of the Order with a look of boredom.

"Anyways," Harry hurriedly continued, "Malfoy, as you know, we need your help to figure out the best way to approach the attack on the Ministry, as well as anything else regarding the Death Eaters."

Harry finished speaking and everyone looked expectantly at Draco Malfoy.

Draco, annoyed at the attention, sighed and looked at Harry.

"Yes, Potter, I know why you called me down here," Draco said. "I don't know how long it would take you lot to prepare for the attack but you need extensive training to fight against the Death Eaters, they have been practicing and inventing new spells to ensure their victory."

"What sort of new spells," Harry asked, slightly alarmed.

"I wouldn't know, would I? They kept my father and me in the dark," _literally_, he thought, "for the most part. What little information I have is from what I've heard before he locked us up," said Draco.

Harry sighed and began to talk about setting up training schedules. Draco listened to him while hoping that Harry wouldn't ask him to help out with the training.

Suddenly, Draco remembered seeing a flash of yellow light as it hit him just as a flash of blue light hit his chest. He had a flashback of writhing on the floor in pain, as he felt a burning pain in his heart. He remembered hearing someone laugh as he screamed in agony. It felt as if someone was trying to rip his heart out.

'_You like that, Malfoy? This handy little spell will shut down your pathetic little organs, starting with your black heart and then your eyes, and the rest of your worthless body.'_

'_Careful, Macnair, we are only testing out the spell on him, we need him alive, to keep the Manor running'_

"Er, Malfoy?" Hermione tried to get Draco's attention. The boy's eyes were glazed over and his face was deathly paler than usual.

Draco blinked twice and snapped back to the present and looked around to see who was calling for him. He saw Hermione looking at him with something that looked suspiciously like concern in her eyes.

"What?" He snarled, his heart hammering at what he had just remembered. _That's the first time I ever remembered something like that happening to me,_ he thought, frantically trying to piece together what happened to him, _did I try blocking that memory with Occlumency before?_

"Are you okay?" Hermione asked him, ignoring the tone of voice.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just remembered exper-… er, hearing about one of their spells. It is supposed to stop your heart first then slowly shut down the rest of your organs once you're hit with the spell," Draco said.

Everyone in the room looked a bit queasy upon hearing about the spell. Kingsley cleared his throat and tried to get everyone back on track to focus planning.

"Well hopefully none of us will have to experience that. Let us all focus and resume planning for the attack so we can be prepared," he said.

Draco nodded absently, his mind still reeling from the flashback he had.

They set to work planning and decided to have members disguise themselves and go to the Ministry everyday to keep watch on when the attack will happen. They also agreed to setting up training sessions to brush on their dueling skills four times a week. Draco grudgingly agreed to help train the Order members, since he had experience training with the Death Eaters and knew most of their weaknesses and strengths.

Kingsley ended the meeting and the members who did not live at headquarters, bid their farewells and went home. The remaining Order members and Draco stayed behind and began preparing for lunch.

Mrs. Weasley ordered everyone around in the kitchen and they all began slicing and dicing away on the cutting boards. Draco stood up and made his way towards the stairs to go back to his room but Hermione stopped him.

"Malfoy, where are you going?" She asked him.

Draco cursed under his breath and turned to face her. He wanted to retreat back to his room and think about the flashback he experienced and why he never remembered it before.

"Upstairs," he responded shortly.

Hermione raised her eyebrow at him and he stared back at her unblinkingly. She opened her mouth to respond when Mrs. Weasley came bustling out of the kitchen and stopped when she saw them.

"Oh, Draco, dear, won't you join us for lunch?" She asked him, smiling as she ushered him towards a seat at the dining table.

Draco was about to turn her down but stopped when he looked at her genuinely hopeful expression. _Why she would want me to join them when I spent half my life tormenting her children is beyond me_, he thought. He really wanted to leave and go back to his room but he nodded in acceptance before he realized what he was doing.

Draco allowed Mrs. Weasley to usher him to a seat across from Mr. Weasley who looked up when Draco sat down. Draco wanted to avoid communicating with anyone, much less the head of the Weasley family.

"So, Mr. Malfoy, how good of you to help us with this mission," Mr. Weasley smiling at Draco, hoping to start a conversation with the young man across from him.

Hermione bit her lip to hide her laughter when she saw Draco sitting at the dining table awkwardly making conversation with Mr. Weasley. Draco looked uncomfortable and Hermione debated whether or not to join them to save him from further discomfort but she decided that Draco deserved to be stuck in an awkward situation with someone who he was raised to insult, to try and humble him a bit. Hermione walked past the dining table and into the kitchen to help the others with the cooking.

"Careful, Ron. You're about to break that knife in half," she warned as she noticed him cutting the carrots with magic. He was dozing off while watching over the carrots chopping and not paying much attention to his work, as the knife was slicing the carrots with more force than needed. Ron jumped at her voice and the knife fell down with its sharp point stabbing the wooden floor, right where Hermione's foot was only seconds before. She turned to see him smiling sheepishly at her as he apologized. Hermione just chuckled at him and began preparing sandwiches for everyone.

About half an hour later, lunch was ready. Hermione and the others brought out the food to the dining table as Harry finished setting the table. Harry caught Hermione's eye as she carried the sandwich tray and grinned at her as he passed by, laughing. Confused, Hermione walked towards the table and set the tray down the middle as she caught wind of the conversation between Mr. Weasley and Draco.

"…Geniuses they are, these Muggles! How they manage to hold up an enormous contraption such as the airplane in the air is beyond me, don't you think so, Draco? And without magic, at that," Mr. Weasley said enthusiastically. Hermione saw Draco's disgust at the thought of Muggles being considered genius and he tried to find a way to respond without coming off as rude. Hermione realized why Harry was laughing; Draco was for once, at a loss of words as he was forced to communicate with the people he hated without insulting them.

Hermione joined them at the table while helping herself to a turkey and cucumber sandwich.

"It's called physics, Mr. Weasley, I think I might have a book on it somewhere in my room," she told him, as she ate.

Mr. Weasley brightened at this and he began eating as well.

"Trust the know-it-all bookworm to have a book on something as tedious as the miracles of a Muggle airplane," Draco said, sneering at her. Thankfully, Mr. Weasley was busy conversing with George about the shop, to hear what Draco said.

"Careful, Malfoy. You wouldn't want that horrid expression to stay on your face forever," Hermione said.

Draco scoffed at her. "As if anything like that would ever happen to such a handsome face like mine," he said to her, smirking, as he piled his plate with food and began eating. Rolling her eyes, Hermione ignored him and pretended to join in on Ron and Harry's conversation about Quidditch, which was surprisingly still going on despite the war.

_If I had a galleon for every time I had to roll my eyes at the ferret, I'd be rolling in gold, _Hermione thought to herself. _It's almost as if she had a built in reflex for his stupid comments._

Later that night, the Order members who lived at number 12 Grimmauld Place finished up their late night activities and began to prepare for bed. Harry and Ron had a little Wizard's Chess tournament with their other housemates, even Draco played for a game but he eventually lost to Ron. Ron was extremely smug about his triumph over Draco, who remained unsurprisingly bitter about losing to a Weasley. Despite his defeat in chess, Draco managed to mingle with the other members fairly well, if not getting into a fight with someone in one day was considered 'getting along'.

The members all bid each other a good night and headed towards their respective bedrooms.

Ron was putting away his Wizard's Chess set as Draco got up to leave the room, still grumbling about his loss.

"No need to be smug about it Weasley. Obviously you had a lucky shot. Rematch tomorrow," Draco said, the last part more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah, yeah, Malfoy. If that helps you sleep at night, go ahead and let yourself believe it. Sure, we can have a rematch but I doubt it'll change anything," said Ron, smirking.

Draco scoffed at him and went upstairs to his bedroom. Hermione, who was watching the whole exchange, shrugged her shoulders at Ron who looked at her after Draco left, and they both chuckled.

They looked at each other for a moment, their smiles still in place, then Hermione broke her eye contact, said good night to him, and they went their separate ways to their bedrooms.

Once she was in bed in the room she shared with Ginny, Hermione thought about the little moment she had with Ron earlier in the sitting room. Sometimes, she wished things worked out between Ron and herself, simply because it was easier to be with him than to start over with someone new, if the war ever ended. Ron was one of her best friends, and although they annoyed each other at times, they still had each other's backs and cared deeply for one another. She knew that Molly Weasley still hoped that they would work things out eventually and get back together. Mrs. Weasley wanted Hermione as a daughter in law as much as Hermione wanted to fill that role, since she basically grew up with that family and considered the Weasleys as her second family. Being with Ron made sense, because it was _safe_.

But if Hermione was honest with herself, she knew that breaking things off with him was the right thing to do. They both realized that they were better off as friends. Ron needed someone who could keep him in line and was willing to play the role of a housewife who wanted to pop out a couple of red headed children. As much as Hermione wanted children, she wanted to establish her career and travel the world first. Although she had done enough traveling this past year, she wanted to be able to go around the world without worry, to marvel at ancient ruins and explore places rich with history and she wanted to do that with someone who was intellectually on the same level as her. Not that Ronald was intellectually lacking, but he didn't share the same interests as Hermione did. She wanted someone to argue theories and debate various ideas with her, not to argue about trivial things, such as who's doing which chores for the night.

As these thoughts raced through her mind, Hermione tossed and turned around in her bed as she tried to sleep through the heat that lasted through August and stayed through the beginning of September. She gave up hopes of trying to sleep and decided to get up and get a glass of water from the kitchen. Hermione crept out of her bed and quickly glanced towards Ginny's bed to make sure she didn't wake the other girl up. Ginny was a heavy sleeper so she was still able to sleep through the heat that kept Hermione up for most of the night.

One look at the clock on their nightstand showed that it was a quarter past three, as Hermione made her way towards the kitchen. She walked into the room and raised her hand to flip the light switch on when suddenly, she noticed someone moving around the kitchen. She almost let out a scream as she turned on the lights while pulling out her wand at the same time. To her immense relief, she saw that it was just Ron in the kitchen eating a late night snack. Hermione held a hand to her chest and Ron looked up at her when the lights turned on.

"Ron! What are you doing in here with the lights off? You nearly gave me a bloody heart attack," said Hermione as she made her way towards him.

"Sorry, Hermione. I didn't think anyone would be awake at this time," said Ron, sheepishly. He pushed his plate towards Hermione who filled a glass of water and took a seat across from him at the table. "Want some leftover carrot cake?"

"No thanks. Couldn't sleep either?" Hermione asked him. She took a sip of the water and relaxed as she felt the cold water slide down her throat, cooling her body.

"Sort of, I woke up earlier and it was bloody boiling in my room so I casted a cooling charm but it didn't work, and I realized I couldn't go back to sleep because I was hungry," he replied. He took a large bite of the cake and chewed with his mouth partially open.

"What else is new," she teased him, fighting off a grimace as she watched him eat.

They made small talk until she finished her glass of water and he polished off the cake he was eating. Hermione stood up and refilled her water and they both went back towards their bedrooms. Hermione walked up the stairs and walked past Draco's room that was slightly open, to her surprise. She peeked in to see how he was doing and saw him sound asleep in bed. Draco's face seemed slightly troubled as he slept and she assumed that he was probably having an unpleasant dream. It didn't seem to be too traumatic to wake him up so she let him be and made her way back to her room. Hermione lay back on her bed and waited for sleep to overtake her tired but overactive mind and body.

As she finally was able to fall asleep, a new character took over her dreams. This was the first time Hermione Granger dreamt of Draco Malfoy.

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**What do you guys think the dream was about?** :-)

**Please leave a review, let me know what you guys think of the story please! I'd love to hear what you guys think about it so far.**


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